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A Profile of Success: John Paul DeJoria

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Profile of John Paul DeJoria’s Experiences going from homelessness to being a multi-billionaire.

“Doesn’t matter how you end up in this situation, what matters is how you deal with it” - Jamal Mechbal TEDxTalks

 by Annelise Cummings
August 12th 2018

Homelessness can happen to anybody. All it takes is the perfect storm of unfortunate situations to go from the top of the world to the bottom of the barrel. For John Paul DeJoria, the perfect storm hit twice, once when he was 22 and again when he was about to start Paul Mitchell Systems (the hair care line) that eventually put him on the map.

The first time he found himself homeless was following the storm of his wife leaving him and his two-year-old son, taking their rent money and their car and taking off. Within a week he was evicted and laid off. He relied on collecting bottles and trading them in before he was able to bunk with a friend of his. He believed the only way was up from there so he worked his life from the ground up and started over again.

The second time he found himself homeless was before he was about to launch his company. He was prepared to leave his life behind once his investor got on board. Unfortunately for him, his investor backed out leaving him with nothing to start is company and too much pride to go back to his second wife. He resorted to living out of his car and borrowing some seed money from his mom to get his business off the ground. He and his friend took the business door to door while trying to establish themselves. It took two years before he thought he had made it and it was all uphill from there.

In both cases, pride was the factor that got in his way of seeking help. In our culture, it is portrayed as shameful to ask for help or appear to be struggling. This sense of shame prevents people from seeking medical help and prevents homeless people from using the resources around them to elevate their living situation. It’s important that we recognize that shame and pride can get in the way of people seeking help. It’s also important that we work to dismantle myths and preconceptions about homelessness so more people can be comfortable seeking and receiving assistance.

Not everyone who falls on hard times will have a success story on the magnitude of DeJoria. Most will be lucky to get back on their feet much less found their own company. Homelessness can happen to anyone. Even those who make the ‘right’ decisions all along the way.

More information about his story, business philosophy, and business advice can be found at the following links:
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